Hocking Hills State Parks - Old Man's Cave

Old Man's Cave

The most popular of all the Hocking areas is Old Man's Cave, located on State Route
664. Here at the Upper Falls, the Grandma Gatewood Trail begins its six-mile course
connecting three of the park's areas: Old Man's Cave to Cedar Falls to Ash Cave. This same
trail has been designated as part of Ohio's Buckeye Trail as well as part of two national
systems - the North Country Scenic Trail and America's Discovery Trail.

Old Man's Cave derives its name from the hermit Richard Rowe who lived in the large
recess cave of the gorge. His family moved to the Ohio River Valley around 1796 from the
Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee to establish a trading post. He and his two dogs
traveled through Ohio along the Scioto River in search of game. On one side trip up Salt
Creek, he found the Hocking Region. Rowe lived out his life in the area and is buried
beneath the ledge of the main recess cave. Earlier residents of the cave were two
brothers, Nathaniel and Pat Rayon, who came to the area in 1795. They built a permanent
cabin 30 feet north of the cave entrance. Both brothers are buried in or near the cave.
Their cabin was later dismantled and relocated on the nearby Iles farm to be used as a
tobacco drying house.

The Old Man's Cave area can be divided into five principal sections found along the
valley of Old Man's Creek. In order, they are: Upper Falls, Upper Gorge, Middle Falls,
Lower Falls and Lower Gorge. Along the length of the trail the magnificent gorge cuts
through the entire 150-foot thickness of the Blackhand sandstone. Carved by the creek, the
gorge serves as an avenue for visitors to peer into the earth's subsurface. The full
distance of the gorge is approximately one half mile.